Biographies

"Did they tell you stories about the saints of old,
stories about their faith?
Stories like that make a boy grow bold,
stories like that make a man walk straight..."

Rich Mullins, Boy Like Me, Man Like You

Stories about people have a way of affecting us in ways other stories can't. The Bible is primarily stories about people, and it is through these multiple biographies that we understand human nature, the history of redemption, and even to a great extent God Himself. The purpose behind any other biography is largely the same—to help us understand what it means to be human from the examples (sometimes even the bad examples) of those who have preceded us.

The biographies we have chosen for this section represent those of great leaders in history, social and military heroes, and Christian saints past and present who struggled to conform their lives to Christ's perfect example. We have avoided for the most part biographies of history's villains and chronic immoralists, not because they aren't interesting but because they don't represent lives worthy of imitation. We've also decided not to focus on athletes, actors, and celebrities, unless they've made important contributions outside their fields. That's not to say everyone found here was above reproach or even a Christian, but they all demonstrated real human virtues for which they are remembered.

Biographies are also useful for better understanding of a given historical period. While history books can provide good overviews of a period or events, the intimate detail of a good biography can better illustrate a time period and what it was like to be alive then. This also serves to demonstrate the universality of human nature, that people will behave basically the same during any given period and in any given place. Sometimes we get the impression that people of the past, especially people like missionaries and ministers, were somehow more pious than we are—the personal view offered by a good biography dispels this myth and offers encouragement that not even the best men and women are any closer to perfection than we are.

Review by C. Hollis Crossman
C. Hollis Crossman used to be a child. Now he's a husband and father who loves church, good food, and weird stuff. He might be a mythical creature, but he's definitely not a centaur. Read more of his reviews here.
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49 Items found Print
Active Filters: Saints & Reformers, Hardcover
Amazing Grace of Freedom
by Ken Wales, Susan Wales, Ted Baehr
2nd edition
for 6th-10th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
Anselm of Canterbury
Christian Biographies for Young Readers
by Simonetta Carr
from Reformation Heritage Books
for 2nd-6th grade
in Church History for Kids (Location: XCH-KID)
Athanasius
Christian Biographies for Young Readers
by Simonetta Carr
from Reformation Heritage Books
for 2nd-6th grade
in Church History for Kids (Location: XCH-KID)
Augustine of Hippo
Christian Biographies for Young Readers
by Simonetta Carr
from Reformation Heritage Books
for 2nd-6th grade
in Church History for Kids (Location: XCH-KID)
Brother Sun, Sister Moon
by Katherine Paterson, Saint Francis of Assisi; illustrated by Pamela Dalton
from Chronicle Books
for Nursery-1st grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Calvin and the Calvinists
by Paul Helm
from Banner of Truth Trust
Biography for Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$14.50
Church History ABCs
by Ned Bustard, Stephen J. Nichols
from Crossway Books
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Church History for Kids (Location: XCH-KID)
$13.59
Contending for Our All
The Swans Are Not Silent Book 4
by John Piper
from Crossway Books
for 11th-Adult
in Clearance: Christian Books (Location: XCLE)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
For Kirk and Covenant
Leaders in Action Series
by Doug Wilson
from Cumberland House
Biography for
in Leaders in Action (Location: BIO-LIA)
Francis and Clare, Saints of Assisi
by Helen Walker Homan
Stated First Printing from Vision Books
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$15.00 (2 in stock)
Glory and Honor
Leaders in Action Series
by Gregory Wilbur
from Cumberland House
Biography for 9th-Adult
in Leaders in Action (Location: BIO-LIA)
Heart Promptly Offered
Leaders in Action
by David W. Hall
from Cumberland House
Biography for 9th-12th grade
in Leaders in Action (Location: BIO-LIA)
Heroes of God
by Katie & Dan Montgomery
from Augsburg Fortress
for 3rd-6th grade
in Biography Anthologies (Location: BIO-ANTH)
Ignatius of Antioch
Heroes of the Faith
by Dr. Sinclair Ferguson
from Banner of Truth Trust
for 3rd-6th grade
in Church History for Kids (Location: XCH-KID)
Irenaeus of Lyons
Heroes of the Faith
by Dr. Sinclair Ferguson
from Banner of Truth Trust
for 3rd-6th grade
in Church History for Kids (Location: XCH-KID)
$14.00
Joan of Arc
by Josephine Poole
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
Biography for 2nd-5th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
Joan of Arc
by Margaret Hodges, illustrated by Robert Rayevsky
1st edition from Holiday House
Picture Book Biography for 2nd-5th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
Joan of Arc
World Landmark #4
by Nancy Ross
from Random House
Biography for 5th-8th grade
in World Landmark Books (Location: VIN-LAN)
Joan of Arc of Domremy
by Michael Morpurgo, illustrated by Michael Foreman
from Harcourt
for 2nd-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
John Calvin
by Burk Parsons (editor)
from Reformation Trust Publishing
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
John Calvin
Christian Biographies for Young Readers
by Simonetta Carr
1st edition from Reformation Heritage Books
for 2nd-6th grade
in Church History for Kids (Location: XCH-KID)
$18.00
John Calvin: Man of the Millennium
from Vision Forum
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
John Knox
by Simonetta Carr
from Reformation Heritage Books
for 3rd-6th grade
in Church History for Kids (Location: XCH-KID)
$18.00
John Owen
Christian Biographies for Young Readers
by Simonetta Carr
from Reformation Heritage Books
for 2nd-6th grade
in Church History for Kids (Location: XCH-KID)
Life & Times of St. Francis
by Agostino Ghilardi
from Curtis Publishing Co.
for 8th-12th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$4.00 (2 in stock)
Life and Times of Martin Luther
by J. H. Merle D'Aubigne, translated by H. White
from Moody Press
for Adult
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
Life of John Calvin
by Theodore Beza
3rd edition from Back Home Industries
Biography for 9th-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$15.00
Life of John Knox
by Thomas McCrie
from Back Home Industries
Biography for 10th-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$17.00 $12.00 (2 in stock)
Life of Saint Patrick
World Landmark #17
by Quentin Reynolds
from Random House
for 5th-9th grade
in World Landmark Books (Location: VIN-LAN)
Living Nativity
by Helen and David Haidle
from Honor Books
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Christmas & Advent (Location: HOLIDAY)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Luther
by Frederick Nohl
from Concordia Publishing House
for 5th-8th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$15.99 $7.50 (4 in stock)
Martin Luther
by May McNeer & Lynd Ward
from Abingdon Press
for 4th-8th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Martin Luther
by Paul L. Maier
1st edition from Concordia Publishing House
for Preschool-3rd grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
Martin Luther
Penguin Lives
by Martin Marty
from Viking Press
for 10th-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
Martin's Mice
by Sister Mary Marguerite, illustrated by Rafaello Busoni
from Follett
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Vintage Picture Books (Location: VIN-PIC)
Pillars of Grace Volume 2
from Reformation Trust Publishing
for Adult
in Church History Overviews (Location: XCH-OVE)
Place to Stand
Leaders in Action Series
by Gene Veith
from Cumberland House
Biography for 9th-Adult
in Leaders in Action (Location: BIO-LIA)
Poland's Noble Son
by Daughters of St. Paul & Maxine Mayer, illustrated by Maxine Mayer
for 3rd-6th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
Reformation Heroes
by Diana Kleyn, Joel R. Beeke
2nd edition from Reformation Heritage Books
for 5th-10th grade
in Church History (Location: XCH-HIS)
Saint Augustine
by Garry Wills
1st edition from Viking Press
for 11th-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Saint Francis and the Wolf
by Richard Egielski
from HarperCollins
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Saint Jean-Marie Vianney
by Margaret Trouncer
from Sheed & Ward
for 10th-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
Scots Worthies
by John Howie
from Banner of Truth Trust
for 11th-Adult
in Church History (Location: XCH-HIS)
$33.00
Seven Men
by Eric Metaxas
from Thomas Nelson Publishers
for 8th-Adult
in Biography Anthologies (Location: BIO-ANTH)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
St. Elizabeth's Three Crowns
by Blanche Jennings Thompson, illustrated by Lili Rethi
1963 4th Printing from Vision Books
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Stories of the Saints
by Carey Wallace, Illustrated by Nick Thornborrow
from Workman Publishing
for 3rd-6th grade
in Church History for Kids (Location: XCH-KID)
$26.95
Story of Joan of Arc
Grosset & Dunlap Signature #19
by Jeannette C. Nolan, illustrated by Pranas Lapé
from Grosset & Dunlap
Biography for 5th-9th grade
in Grosset & Dunlap Signature Books (Location: VIN-SIG)
Thundering Scot
by Geddes MacGregor
from Westminster Press
for 10th-Adult
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
When Lightning Struck!
by Danika Cooley
from Fortress Press
for 5th-9th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$16.99 $9.00 (2 in stock)